Though Mali Obomsawin came onto our radar as a member of the indie rock band Deerlady, she's one of those prolific artists who stays active in many corners of the music world. In addition to further avant-folk explorations like her album with Jake Blount, Obomsawin is a fixture in the world of jazz and experimental music, and our metal columnist Brad Sanders caught her bringing the heaviness alongside Raven Chacone with the metal-esque ensemble Lazyhorse at Big Ears.
Now she's ready to announce the follow up to her 2022 solo debut Sweet Tooth. It's called Automatic, it's dropping in October, and its title track is out now. Obomsawin is part of the Abenaki First Nation’s Odanak community in Quebec, and Automatic is billed as her attempt to make a record institutions can't own. The cover art situates some of her own personal relics, such as her upright bass and traditional ash baskets, alongside symbols of conflict like grenades, a rifle, and the Mohawk Warrior Society flag.
Obomsawin worked with Andrew Broder, the producer and turntablist also known as Fog, to blend archival recordings of her Abenaki ancestors in with her own original tracks. You can hear the first fruits of that process by pressing play on "Automatic" below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Nawa"
02 "Automatic"
03 "Triage"
04 "O'temin"
05 "Moi, quand j'y suis"
06 "Malian"
07 "Kojua II"
08 "Venez"
Automatic is out 10/16 on Out Of Your Head Records. Pre-order it here.
